Preah Sihanouk Provincial Television, September 12: Cambodian media cited in the report said three predictions by former prime minister and current Senate President Samdech Hun Sen about former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's political fortunes had been borne out:
First, Thaksin's “breath-holding contest” strategy would unravel early;
Second, internal power struggles could lead to his loss of influence;
Third, Thailand would change its prime minister within three months.
The report says Thaksin proposed the “breath-holding contest” strategy in July, seeking to use border closures and economic pressure to force Cambodia to make concessions. Hun Sen had said on social media that the person initiating the game might collapse first. On September 9, Thailand's Supreme Court ruled that Thaksin must return to prison for one year, with his previous hospital stay not counted towards the sentence. The report portrays this as his early exit before the “contest” ended.
On power struggles, Hun Sen had warned Thaksin that scheming to remove his ally, then Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, might backfire. Anutin had since become Thailand's 32nd prime minister, while Thaksin had lost his freedom in what the report described as a political backlash.
The third prediction dated from June 2025, when Hun Sen forecast a major change in Thailand's government and a new prime minister within three months. On August 29, Thailand's Constitutional Court removed then Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for violating constitutional provisions.
The commentary concludes that developments from the “contest” to the change of government vindicated Hun Sen's predictions and reflected the political judgement he developed through long experience in government and regional affairs.
Compiled by the station
